Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!lll-winken!ncis.tis.llnl.gov!blackbird!lriggins
From: lriggins@blackbird.afit.af.mil (Leonard M. Riggins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Re: modems, macs, and unix
Message-ID: <1829@blackbird.afit.af.mil>
Date: 26 Dec 90 16:22:06 GMT
References: <73801@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
Organization: Air Force Institute of Technology; WPAFB, OH
Lines: 61

In article <73801@unix.cis.pitt.edu> andre@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Andre  Srinivasan) writes:
>ok, so i finally wired a phone jack for my mac and want to dial into the
>local unix box.  i read the macuser 2400 baud modem review and am NOT going
>to pay $200+ just because the modem is packaged for the mac. come on, i see
>the same modem in a pc magazine for >$150, this is ridiculous.

Well, maybe it's not ridiculous if you don't have the cable and telecomm
software.  There's been a lot of traffic here about the outrageous cost of
cables.  And the comm apps aren't cheap either.  You can put it together
yourself (which I recommend) or let the mail-order house do it for you.
It'll cost about the same.

>
>so i need some advice:  what modem (of the countless billions) should i
>buy?  i am willing to pay a little more for quality, but not simply because
>the modem is sold by a mac house.

Well, I didn't read the review, but some of the things I'd look for are
v.42/v.42bis/MNP capability.  Your UNIX box may not have that kind of
dial-in now, but maybe soon?  Also, a lot of the USR HST's on BBS's have
v.42 capability even at 2400/1200 baud.  It's worth a 20% improvement
even on compressed files.

>
>software:  anybody use something that's inexpensive that does a nice job of
>talking to the csh (unlike red ryder where i need to hit option-u twice)?

A lot of folks recommend ZTerm 0.85 and it IS great for BBSing.  However,
it's VT100 emulation leaves a lot to be desired!  MacKermit has pretty
good emulation (and the price is right - PD) but the Kermit transfer protocol
is a lot slower.  However, some UNIX boxes can only deal with Kermit.
Microphone is the Rolls-Royce of Mac telecomm packages.  Powerful, yet
follows the Mac interface even when doing exotic things.  Supports HyperCard
XCMDs, scripts, you name it.  However, it is very expensive. $2XX mail-order.
VersaTerm (or the more expensive VT-PRO) has excellent emulation but last
I checked it only supported Xmodem and Kermit transfers.  Regular VT is about
$80 mail-order, I believe.  Personally, I use White Knight.  I never liked
it's interface, but it does really good emulation and supports X,Y,Zmodem
as well as Kermit.  I believe it's as powerful as Microphone, but when you
do anything really exotic, you're more or less in the "hacker" mode...
as long as you are familiar with telecomm stuff, this isn't a problem.  And
it is a lot cheaper than Microphone.  (I'm not sure why you have to hit
Ctrl-U twice with Red Ryder)  I have all kinds of WK Scripts that log me
in and work with shell scripts to do things.

>
>finally, the cable: i have a cable from macwarehouse that works fine with
>my 1200 baud modem.  can i visually tell if it's set up for hardware
>handshakeing? 
>
>thanks.
>
>								-andre

you're welcom.

-- 
Maurice      INTERNET:    lriggins@blackbird.afit.af.mil (129.92.1.2)

      Opinions expressed here do not reflect those of my employer nor
      constitute an official position of any U.S.Government agency.